LAFAYETTE, La. - Brother Martin pulled off its second upset, knocking off second-seeded Scotlandville 55-54 on Saturday night for the championship in the Class 5A Louisiana boys state tournament.
The ninth-seeded Crusaders beat top-seeded St. Augustine in the quarterfinal round.
Patrick Swilling scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and converted a key steal under the Hornets' basket with 6 seconds left.
Swilling, the son of former New Orleans Saints linebacker Pat Swilling, was honored as the 5A title game's Most Valuable Player after his late-game heroics. He also had five rebounds for Brother Martin (29-10), which won its first state title since 2005 and its sixth overall.
It was the third time in the last four playoff games that Brother Martin overcame a double-digit deficit in the third quarter. The Crusaders trailed by 14 points in the third quarter at Ponchatoula in the regional round and again by 14 points in the third quarter in a semifinal win over Hammond on Thursday.
The Crusaders trailed 41-25 against Scotlandville (34-6) with 3:49 left in the third quarter, before outscoring the Hornets 22-3 in the final quarter.
The Crusaders began their comeback with two free throws by Dante Butler with 3:06 left in the third quarter, before Myron Chapman's basket pulled them within 41-33 going into the fourth.
In the final quarter, Rillieux hit two baskets early and then Swilling began to heat up. A Swilling layup with 4:28 remaining narrowed the gap to 46-43, and then his jumper made it 46-45 with 4:03 left.
The two teams went back and forth the rest of the way, with Thomas delivering a pair of three-point plays at 3:53 and 2:29 to go to give Scotlandville a 53-49 lead.
Thomas only converted one of two free throws, though, with 1:05 left for a 54-53 lead.
Swilling's layup attempt with 51 seconds left rattled out, but the Crusaders grabbed the offensive rebound.
That set up Butler's clutch layup with 31 seconds left for the final margin, giving the Crusaders their first lead since the first quarter.
J.J. Thomas led the Hornets with 25 points and 19 rebounds, which tied the all-time Top 28 Class 5A rebounding record.
Butler added 13 points and Schane Rillieux chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds for Brother Martin.
Scotlandville had one last chance for the win, but Levie Wright's drive into the lane was halted by Swilling's steal.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
